Charlie Connelly's Elvis Search
Charlie Connelly's latest book takes him In Search of Elvis
Mar 18, 2007
How could Charlie Connelly follow his offbeat and successful travel book, Attention All Shipping? He does it by going In Search of Elvis, in an engaging journey that takes him from Elvis's birthplace in Tupelo, via places Elvis visited in Germany, Las Vegas and Hawaii, and of course to Elvis's home and the setting for his tragic death: Graceland in Memphis.
In August 2007 it will be thirty years since Elvis died, and Connelly – an admirer of Elvis rather than an obsessive fan – wanted to take a look at the Elvis legacy, and see why Presley remains the biggest cultural icon of our time. To do this, he's chosen not to write a biography, and not to trace Elvis's life through the obvious places, but also explore what he means to his fans today. The trip takes him to Finland to meet a professor who performs Elvis songs in Latin while wearing a kilt; to Canada to meet Schmelvis, the Jewish Elvis impersonator, and Elvis Priestley, the Anglican priest and also an Elvis impersonator. Oh yes, and to Uzbekistan and, the start of his journey, to Scotland.
In Scotland Connelly doesn't head for the obvious place: Prestwick Airport, the only time Elvis set foot on British soil. Instead he heads for a rather lesser-known place, Lonmay, north of Aberdeen. This is where Elvis's roots have been traced to, as the Presley ancestors migrated to America from Lonmay. Connelly's journey also takes him to Porthcawl in Wales, to an Elvis Convention where he meets one of the most uplifting characters in the whole book.
It is Connelly's interest in and liking for people that makes In Search of Elvis. He's an enjoyable traveling companion, who appreciates the eccentricities and enthusiasms of the people he meets. He finds some of them both crazy and understandable at the same time. In Tupelo and Memphis, places I've both been to, he catches the atmosphere, the history and mood of Beale Street, and Elvis's unusual closeness (for the time) with the black community in Memphis. When Connelly visits the Civil Rights Museum, and the room where Martin Luther King Jnr was assassinated, he shows he can switch from the frivolous to the serious, and the whole episode is moving, as it should be.
While Charlie Connelly is not quite as funny a writer as Bill Bryson (though who is?), and his jokes can be a bit corny in places, it's his warmth and curiosity that carry the book. I raced through it, and enjoyed it immensely. In Search of Elvis is definitely recommended reading whether you're an Elvis fan or not, and if you are then it's essential. Charlie Connelly's website is also impressive, and carries a free bonus chapter that doesn't appear in the printed edition. Click here to visit his website.
In Search of Elvis is published by Little, Brown at £12.99 in the UK, $26 in Canada
